S&W 640-2 38 Spl NYPD

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Ron In MD

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S&W640-2 38 Special NYPD

I recently sold one of these and the buyer asked me if he could have the cylinder reamed to accept 357 Magnum ammo or could he replace the 38 only cylinder with an 357 one. I told him that I didn't know. So I contacted S&W and asked if this could be done since it appeared that the 640-2 was made on the 640 357 Magnum frame and cylinder.

Their reply which may be a CYA answer was "NO". That the forcing cone on the 38 Spl would not handle the pressure of the 357.

What's your thoughts on this?
 
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My though is that it's a collectible, why not sell it and turn around and get a .357 640-3?
 
You might ask him a simple question...Why?
If he wanted a 357 he should have bought one. A 642 with +P ammo is enough for me, in fact I practice with 148gr cast WC loads and use std vel 38's for SD.
If he does this or can find anyone who would do it for him (doubtful) he will end up with more money in it than a 357 would have cost in the first place and possibly an unsafe gun that nobody will touch for liability or warranty. Plus if he ever uses it in a SD situation I would not want to be him in the witness stand justifying why he made this custom extra lethal firearm.:eek:
 
I fail to see the rationale. But then I fail to see the point of J-frames in .357 Magnum. I doubt that most people who buy them shoot a lot of .357 through them. Everyone I know who owns one of the Magnum J's, even an all-steel one, carries .38 Special +P in it.

Let the flaming begin...
 
At very best case (work done correctly, and cyl/forcing cone able to take the stress) he would have a modified gun that S&W (as well as any smart buyer) would not touch with a 10 foot stick....

Count another vote for sell it and buy a 357.... or keep it and save his orthopedic surgeon some work.... LOL
 
My friend was just curious about the feasibility of doing the swap. His brother in law is a machinist and could ream the cylinders for him or a friend who has a 640 357 cylinder and yoke would sell it it to him at a reasonable cost.

As for the 640-2 being a collectible others here don't think so. I sold it to him again, based on info that I received for $400.00.

So him wanting to convert or change out the cylinder to use as an 357 would be a cheap alternative.

But the basic question I was looking for an answer to, does anyone think the the forcing cone issue from S&W was real or not.
 
The gun is collectible but it doesnt really add value to it.

If you were asking $400 I might have bought it, but $475 was still to high.

I would never modify something the factory expressly told you not to. If something goes awry how could it be explained.

I guess people want what they want, but a J frame 357 seems more like a gimmick than useful. While I could not bear the pain from shooting it personally (hand pain). Any reading I have done shows little benefit and lots more recoil and flash.

To each their own I suppose
 
FWIW the last thing I would do is something the S&W factory said not to do. Why take risk?

I've shot a few of the J frame .357s and decided then and there that the smallest .357 I would ever shoot is a K frame, but that's just me.
 
I agree with the above poster. Once you hit 20 ounces or so of handgun weight the brutal, painful recoil of a full charge .357 round defeats the very purpose of carrying the handgun as accurate fire is all but impossible. Using +P ammo in J frames is a logical compromise.

Rich
 
attn: Ron in MD

Hi Ron. I see this time and again on the Forum. A poster describes a problem with a revolver and asks what he can do. 7 or 8 well-meaning folks with home shops will write in with their suggestion about how to rectify the problem. And each of them has a completely different idea. This worries me.

I have bought several used guns that had their innards tinkered with and did not work properly. Each time, I had to pay a gunsmith to fix them and bring them back to factory specs. Your friend's brother-in-law is a machinist, he is not a gunsmith. The factory advised against doing this; that should be enough.
 
.357 in a j-frame ??

Hmmm..... My only j-frame that is built for that round is my 340 M&P. Shooting a .357 in something that light is a memorable experience. A follow-up shot in a SD situation probably won't be as accurate as if shooting .38spl. It is a joy to carry though, and I do love the front sight, I just keep it loaded with .38spl.....
My model 66 snubbie is another story.
 
Last edited:
We had 640 .357 magnums issued in the U.S. Customs Service as back-up guns. When loaded with .357 magnum ammunition, the little revolver was a BEAST! Excessive recoil and muzzle flash from all the unburnt powder igniting outside the weapon.

Most Agents just carried +P+ .38spl ammunition, and that tamed the beast. I doubt very seriously that you gain ANY sort of performance from shooting the .357 magnum ammo from such a short barreled revolver. I beleiev that the +P+ .38spl round is a much better alternative to the .357 magnum in this platform.
 
Small, light, short-barrelled 357's reinforce the American creed that more is better and too much is perfect. THink I'll stick to +P 38's in j-frames.
 
OK, THANKS for all the replies. My friend said that he will not do anything to the gun. It was just a thought. He doesn't want to damage it in anyway.

No more replies are necessary.
 
ladder13 said:
+1, the gun is collectible, why mess with it. Get a 649-3 ;)

Click to expand...

I'm totally ignorant on this but why are 640-2 collectable?

I bought a 640 no dash and a 642 no dash when they first came out and they have been the carry guns for my wife and me. Should I find something else?
 
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